Bourbon Restoration

The Bourbon Restoration was the period of French history between the fall of Napoleon I and the First French Empire in 1814 and the July Revolution of 1830. Upon Napoleon's abdication in 1814, the late King Louis XVI of France's brother was crowned Louis XVIII of France, and France maintained many of Napoleon's reforms, although it refused to adopt any further reforms. Louis XVIII's gentle reign ended with his death in 1824, and his brother became Charles X of France. Charles, who led the Ultra-Royalists as Duke of Artois, was a proponent of an absolute monarchy, and he attempted to censor the liberal and moderate opposition. Charles X and his premier Jules de Polignac oppressed the opposition and the bourgeoisie, reducing interest on government bonds to the chagrin of the bourgeoisie and to the benefit of the aristocracy; he also disbanded the French National Guard in 1827. In 1830, the implementation of the Four Ordinances led to the July Revolution, and Charles was overthrown and replaced by Louis Philippe I and the liberal July Monarchy.